The 4LIYC will check ice on Friday, January 5 at noon. Please meet at Captain Bill’s.
Saturday morning racing might be out due to low temperatures and light winds, however we may be able to sail Saturday afternoon. Sunday looks even better with winds forecasted at 10-15 mph and tropical 31F temperatures. As of today, NOAA is calling for a “Chance Snow then Slight Chance Wintry Mix” for Sunday.
Commodore Don Anderson set up his Renegade yesterday on Middleton Bay. The snow was just too sticky for him to get going in the light air but Jerry Simon saw a Nite sailing on Mendoter “with no trouble, enough wind and not too much snow…. The Nite likely came from a home on the north side of the lake and [I] wasn’t able to talk to skipper. The 1-2 inches of light snow didn’t have any noticeable drifting with smooth hard ice underneath.”
Next update about 4LIYC racing will be Friday, January 5 by 5 PM.
4LIYC ice checkers in -17F windchill on Middleton Bay.
Kicking the tires.
Goose at the shore.
First of all, there will be no Bloody Mary Classic sailing on New Year’s Day because of the cold temperatures.
Some intrepid 4LIYC ice checkers including Don Anderson, Don Sanford, and Scott Goetz, braved the bitter conditions on Lake Mendota’s west end, Middleton Bay this morning. They found 5″ of hard, smooth ice covered in less than one inch of snow. Don said the sheet looked sailable.
There’s talk of a coming outbreak of the iceboat flu and taking a day off a day of work to sail during the coming week if the temperatures moderate. Stay tuned.
ENTERPRISE on Kegonsa, oil on canvas by Harry Whitehorse Note the old Sunnyside (now Springer’s) on the shore.
There will be no 4LIYC racing December 30-31. Commodore Don Anderson and a large group of ice checkers (and lunch eaters) confirmed that Lake Kegonsa is covered with hard snow drifts, some up to 5″. The drifting and Saturday’s brutally cold temperatures made it an easy decision.
The group will reassemble on Middleton Bay tomorrow, Saturday, 30 at 11 AM at the Captain Bill’s landing. Don walked on Middleton Bay yesterday and thought the ice looked good (except for one goose hole), If there are sailing conditions, club members are tentatively planning on setting up boats there Sunday, December 31 for a day of scrub racing followed by the Bloody Mary Classic 10-lapper race on January 1 with more scrub racing. If you would like to help check ice, please be at Captain Bill’s tomorrow at 11 AM.
Next update will be tomorrow, Saturday, January 30.
Madison’s largest body of water, Lake Mendota, has frozen over today. I downloaded some time lapse video from the University of Wisconsin Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences rooftop camera, combining videos from Tuesday and this morning so you can watch the thrill of Mendota’s ice form before your very own eyes.
Hope to see everyone at tonight’s 4LIYC meeting!
Here’s another video from the Wisconsin Stern Steerer regatta by Joe Terry where he provides a running commentary during race four. This one is definitely worth your while!
